A Game of Strategy, Not Chance
by Avdal
Summary: Kylo Ren doesn't believe in playing fair. Unfortunately for him, neither does Rey.


"Rey, I will defeat you. That's a promise, not an empty threat. And when I do, you will forever become my slave."

Rey snorts. Oh where has she heard this before?

"Pretty big talk, considering you're zero for three right now."

Kylo glowers, narrowing his eyes until they are little more than two dark slits.

" _That_ is because you cheat. You would never win otherwise."

She shrugs. "Then learn to cheat."

With a quick flick of her finger gesturing through the air, she moves her rook into a new place on the board.

"Check."

"Hey!" Poe interjects, scowling at her unsanctioned move, "you both promised no powers! If we're playing this game, we're playing it fair and square."

Across from him, Finn moves a pawn while nodding in that 'I mostly understand what's happening but not 100%' sort of way that he often does when it comes to socialization.

"Fair?" Kylo scoffs. "She's _cheating_."

"Maybe I'm just a better player than you."

"What a ridiculous notion. Now be quiet," he dismisses her with an airy wave of his hand that makes her eyes narrow and Poe snort under his breath. "I need silence to contemplate my next move."

Rey rolls her eyes, pulls a face and shoots it at Finn who nods again, this time in complete agreement.

They were playing a four player variant of classic chess. This one allowed certain non-traditional moves and captures, which made for a faster and more exciting game for Rey and a deeply personal challenge for Kylo.

And so he glares at the board. Scowls at it. Frown and tips his head to the side. Takes his time, pondering every possible move and outcome and strategy.

Until a cheesy snack twist is flicked through the air and lands squarely on his forehead.

"Rey!" he howls, tearing it off of himself with such force that the whole table shakes. Poe steadies it with his knee and a deep sigh. They were only six rounds in. At this rate, it was going to be a long, long evening.

"Oops," Rey simpers her lower lip. "Did I break your concentration?"

Kylo's shoulders begin to tighten. The last time he did that, the table with their Bridge game ended up cleaved in half and Master Luke coldly informed them to stop trashing his furniture or he'll lower the lights out curfew to even earlier.

"Smash anything and I'll punch you," Finn warns, helping Poe steady the table which had begun to vibrate alarmingly.

It had been only a few short weeks since Kylo had claimed to reform himself and turn back to their side. To Poe and Finn, it felt like a lifetime. Decades of stepping around his moody tantrums while trying to keep Rey from baiting him into misbehaving because 'it was so damn fun to see him get worked up'.

"Can we just have a nice evening?" Poe asks, slumping back in his seat when the table finally grows still and Kylo returns to crossing his arms and scowling.

Finn reaches over, picks up one of Kylo's pieces, and moves it two squares forward.

"I wasn't _done ye_ -"

"You were taking too long."

Kylo's fingers twitch . Rey can practically feel the burning urge to use a Force Choke rising in him.

She smacks him back into his seat with a push of her own powers, and this time neither of the other two object.

"Settle down, you drama queen," she tells him with no shortage of exasperation. "It was a good move."

He opens his mouth to protest before cocking his head to the side again. Pondering the table with a sneer before shrugging.

It was, indeed, a good move. Finn was infinitely more generous than she would have been.

"Next," he orders.

With that, the round makes its next cycle and is greeted by different levels of enthusiasm from each player. Bored 'I don't really want to be here' disinterest from Poe, childish trash talk and excitement from Rey, and Finn keeping his head down and concentrating.

Then it comes back to Kylo's turn again. He begins anew with his overly theatrical hemming and hawing. As if oscillating his head in a manner that makes him look like a tooka-cat caught in a dryer was an essential part of his strategy.

He's taking too long. Again. Finn frowns, cracking his knuckles and waiting against the table. Poe leans back in his chair again and rolls his eyes to the ceiling as if seeking divine intervention to his failing patience.

Rey breaks first. Not that it ever takes much provocation when it came to her and Kylo.

"Make your damn move already!" she shouts, reaching for the box of cheesy twists. It's empty. She already ate them all. "Damnit..."

" _Rey_ ," even the way Kylo says her name is patronizing, "I am _trying_ to concentrate. The longer you distract me, the longer it will-"

"Oh! Found one!"

Rey digs the stray fragment out of the front of her shirt where it had fallen. She debates whether or not to fling it at the emo idiot across from her but why waste food.

Kylo emits a guttural noise of distaste as she blows on it then proceeds to eat it with no small amount of delight. On either side of them, Finn and Poe exchange a significant look.

"Eyes up, Ren," Poe kicks him none to gently when he watches Rey dig around her cleavage looking for more lost goodies.

Rey looks up at him and a slow smile grows on her face.

"Like what you see?" she asks.

Kylo scoffs. Looks away.

"Don't flatter yourself. It takes more than a half filled out blouse to distract me."

She nods with a thoughtful frown. Reaches over and sticks her fingers in Finn's drink and fishes out an ice cube. Then she places it over her neck and rubs it around in circles.

"Getting a little hot in here, don't you think?"

"Oh kriff it Rey," Poe winces, already seeing where this is going. "Can we just… not be here all damn night? There's a party I want to crash and instead I get to watch you two make asses of each other."

Kylo's eyes snap to hers. He slams his palm down hard on the tabletop, and it's only Poe's quick reflexes that save the board from flying from the impact.

"Aaaand you just forfeited your move," he announces, casting a cursory glance at the board before grabbing just any ol' one of Kylo's pieces and moving it a square forward.

Rey rubs the ice cube over her smirking lips, cherishing the sting of the daggers Kylo is glaring at her as she hops her knight right over his piece and plucks it off the table.

"You're making this too easy, Ren," she taunts.

Poe snorts. He picks up one of his pieces then pauses as an idea dawns.

"I know why this is taking so long," he says. "It's because we're not playing for real stakes. Just bragging rights and the joy of making _that one_ fail."

Kylo gives him a sidelong sneer but turns his attention back to Rey as she appears to stare off into space, lapping at the edge of the melting ice cube with the tip of her tongue.

"What do you suggest, then?" he finally asks when Rey pops the remaining nub of ice into her mouth and loudly crunches it.

"Let's up the ante. We're all _pals_ here, right? So I'm sure we can handle actually playing for something that's meaningful."

Rey reaches over and plucks a fresh ice cube from Finn's drink. "We're all broke, Poe. Credits aren't exactly part of my Simple Lifestyle."

Kylo doesn't even try to hide his eye roll.

"How about we exchange chores?" Finn offers, carefully sliding his drink to the far side out of Rey's reach. "We've got tons of stuff we don't like doing here. Whoever wins get to pick."

The tasks on Ahch To ranged from tedious repairs to the all-dreaded water run up the endless staircase of misery and despair. No one ever wanted to do that one.

"Losers clean my ship with a toothbrush," Poe interjects quickly before either Kylo or Rey could begin scheming. Or cheating.

"Yeah," Finn nods, glancing at the table and then to everyone seated around it. "I pick the same. You all clean his ship."

"You can't pick the same," Kylo objects. "It's not allowed."

Finn frowns for a second. "Okay… losers clean his ship with _their own_ toothbrush. That good?"

Poe snorts at the exact same moment that Kylo groans in contemplation to the suggestion.

"Fine," Rey agrees quickly. "Loser gets to grovel before me and tell me in each and every way that he's a fuckup who doesn't deserve forgiveness."

Kylo gapes at her. Dares to look almost offended.

"But what about if one of us loses first?" Finn asks, gesturing between him and Poe.

"Oh… well you two just get to shower me with compliments. That would work too."

"And you say _I_ have a paper thin ego," Kylo picks up one of his pieces. Twiddles it between his fingers but never breaks his staredown of eye contact with Rey.

"And what about you?" she asks, bringing the ice cube back to her neck and rolling her shoulder blades in an exaggerated stretch. "What do you think you're going to get out of this in the unlikely event that you win?"

"I already told you."

"Yeah. No. I'm all for 'shooting for the stars and you might just hit the moon' kind of thinking, but let's keep it grounded in reality, mhmm'kay?"

Kylo begins to glower then catches himself. Juts his chin out instead.

" _When_ I defeat you, you will let me train you for a day."

"Wow, that's going to end well. Fine. Whatever. Deal."

"You know that we're here too, right?" Poe looks between them and Finn who frowns and nods. "What about if one of us loses first? We sure aint training with Mr.-Hulk-Smash-What-He-Don't-Understand over here."

Kylo doesn't even give him the decency of a glare. He simply raises an eyebrow and stares down Rey as she bobs and swirls her ice cube along the top of the V shadow of her shirt.

" _When_ either of you lose, you both will leave my sight for all of tomorrow. I don't want to have to look at either of you even for a moment."

"Fine by me," Poe agrees.

"And?" Finn starts to ask, "what about-"

"If I should lose to either of you, I'll get you in on the guest list to that insipid party tonight. I still have many connections who find a former Commander of the First Order to be a "very cool" addition to a club." Kylo purposefully makes his air quotes extra condescending.

"Deal," they all agree in varying shades of unison.

"Excellent. Checkmate."

Kylo swings his bishop over to the side, knocking Poe's king over.

Poe inhales part of the drink he had been downing and sputters violently.

"Cheated!" he manages to snort out.

"Get over yourself. Now one down, two to go."

Poe glares and wipes himself off. Mutters something about how 'he's going to stick around to the end to see Commander Bitchbaby get what's coming to him' while Rey shoots him a sympathetic look.

"I'll beat him in your honor."

She captures one of Finn's pawns with her rook and he frowns, steepling his fingers and getting into the game now that they're one player down already.

Kylo sweeps his queen to the far side and smirks at her raised eyebrows.

"That's a bold move," she comments.

"I'm a bold man."

"Oh god-fucking-damnit..." Poe rubs his temple, beginning to regret his decision to stick around.

"You're not part of this game anymore, Dameron." Kylo informs him as he studies the board. "Feel free to leave at anytime."

Poe shrugs. "Nah. Wouldn't want to miss this for the world."

Rey smiles as she faintly picks up another whispered 'bitchbaby' at the end of his sentence. She moves her rook again before remembering that she was supposed to be antagonizing him with the ice cube currently melting in her hand. She trails the remnants of it along her temple, creating a damp trail that clings to the edges of her hair.

Then she locks eyes with Kylo, smiling inwardly as his gaze darkens. He breaks first, allowing her to win their silent battle in favor of following the path a bead of water traces along her face. When it drips off her chin and lands on her cleavage he drums his fingers against the tabletop, impatiently waiting for Finn to hurry up so he can make his next move.

He slides his queen right next to her king.

"Check."

She raises an eyebrow. Licks her lips and moves her king one to the side, bringing it closer to his own but sacrificing a bishop in return.

As soon as Finn moves, Kylo moves his queen forward, bringing them right back to where they were.

"Check," he repeats.

Rey yawns. Spares her king with a doomed but lowly pawn.

In the corner of her vision she sees Finn squirm in his seat. She can feel a ghostly trace of how uncomfortable he is to be caught between the two of them and whatever great tension is building the longer they glare and insult one another.

When it's his turn again Kylo shakes his head at her.

"You can't win. I have you trapped. You'll never be able to escape."

"Well get on with it, then," Rey says with a disaffected sniff.

Then she pretends to stretch, rolling her spine in an elaborate arch that displays just that little bit extra of her cleavage. Kylo's face turns a shade darker and Poe snorts into his drink and offers her a toast.

"Eyes up, Dameron," Kylo warns him, picking up his piece and moving it.

"Ditto, _Ren_."

Rey captures his queen, ruining his headway, and bringing his own king into jeopardy.

"Check."

Kylo blinks. He had been too busy being fixated by her- by _correcting_ Dameron to realize he had moved the wrong piece.

Now he's really in a difficult position.

"Sometimes..." he muses, speaking through this own fingers which he has tightly pressed to his chin in concentration. "Sometimes the most successful battle tactics require a calculated risk."

He picks up his bishop and slides it diagonally to her king.

Rey raises her eyebrows. Eyeing the imminent threat to her keystone piece. There is only one move that she can do to survive, but she finds herself reluctant. Moving her king out of the way was the only way to defend the piece, but… but she could move her queen instead.

If she did that, it would bring them to an impasse. Kylo could swoop in with his bishop and capture her king, ensuring his ultimate victory. But under their variation's rules, Rey would still have one move to retaliate. Slice his own then-undefended king down with her queen and bring them both to defeat together.

"How poetic," he muses, "bound with each other even in death."

Rey rolls her eyes. That was just such a _Kylo_ thing to say.

"Whatever. You'd still lose. That's what matters."

"And so would you, Rey. Or should I call you my 'darling new apprentice'?"

 _That_ makes her narrow her eyes.

"Apprentice for _one_ day," she holds up her index finger and gestures angrily at him. "Just one day, Kylo. And you still have to grovel and debase yourself to me."

His lips set into a grim line.

"A fair price. _Do it_."

Another staredown. Kylo's eyes bore into her own, burning with such repressed intensity she wonders if taking him down with her will really be worth it. How bad can one day with Kylo really be?

Quite possibly horrible.

But… ultimately worth it. Failure is not an option.

She moves her queen, signaling the beginning of the end.

Kylo smiles slowly, the first time his expression changed from 'pissy' during the whole night.

"Check. Checkmate. Double checkmate, actually."

Kylo freezes mid-reach as Finn picks up his knight, bops it over Rey's kings head, makes the L-shape, and captures Kylo's king along with it. Winning the game in one swift move.

Poe breaks out into laughter, slapping his thigh for emphasis as all the color drains from Kylo's face and Rey gapes in open mouthed astonishment.

"What?" Finn asks, leaning back and clasping his hands together over his lap. "Did you forget I was here, too?"

And he looks so smug, even putting his feet up on the table for emphasis.

Poe is still laughing his ass off as Kylo stands up, placing two hands on either side of the board, and leans in close. Studying each and every remaining piece as if he thought there was still some way out of this change of fortune.

"It's… not possible. It's not!" he protests.

"But he still loses, right?" Rey points at him. "I lose but he loses too, right?"

"Gods, for being _'The Most Powerful Force Users in the Galaxy_ ' you two sure are kriffing oblivious to what's going on around you," Finn comments, getting up from his victory perch.

Poe takes another long swill of his drink before standing up and joining him. They start to head towards the door, ready to try and salvage the rest of the night.

"Where the hell do you two think you're going?!" Kylo bellows. "I demand a rematch!"

Poe shrugs. Offers a fist bump to Finn who ponders the gesture for a moment before returning it.

"You told us to get lost," Poe reminds him.

"And we have a party to go to."

"Aaaand we have a party to go to. Rey, sweetie, kindly make sure he calls and RSVP's us onto the list, will you?"

Rey grumbles an agreement. Still feeling salty over losing at all, but at least her kriffing idiot bondmate didn't win. Silver linings or something like that.

"But you _lost_ Dameron," Kylo protests, seizing Poe's red king that he'd captured and waving it at him. "You lost badly and early, so how can you-"

"He's my plus one," Finn gestures with a thumb up.

Poe throws an arm over his shoulder. "That's right. I'm his plus one."

Together, arm in arm, they saunter out. Readying themselves to get into the shuttle and jet off for an evening to forget while Rey is stuck-

"Make those floors shine, lovelies!" Poe calls back over his shoulder just as they're about to leave. "I want to see my face in them when we get back!"

Kylo flicks his palm, slamming the door rudely behind them.

The he turns and glowers at Rey. She sulks, slumping against the edge of the table and crossing her arms over her chest.

She tries to ignore him, but when it becomes clear that he's not going to do anything other than stand there starting at her, she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Shall we get started, then?"

"How about if we make it more interesting?"

Rey starts to narrow her eyes but then stops herself before any more of Kylo's sulky mannerisms start to rub off on her.

"What do you have in mind?" she asks, voice thick with suspicion.

"A race. I beat you to Poe's shuttle and I get to train you for a whole week. And you _will_ obey me."

She rolls her eyes. Kylo and his stupid power kinks. Nothing new there.

"Fine," she agrees. "But _when_ I win, you have to clean the shuttle with your own toothbrush… and then use it afterwards."

Kylo chokes on the breath he'd been taking.

"Gross."

"Then I guess you'd better not lose."

He glares at her. She glares at him. Then they both nod once, and the deal is made. Rey stomps over to his side and flicks open the door with the Force.

"Ready?" she asks.

"Set," he agrees.

" _ **Go!"**_

They both surge forward, determined to not be defeated so easily again.

Only to get promptly stuck on each other in the doorway and spend the rest of the journey to Poe's shuttle crawling over each other in an undignified tangle of limbs while simultaneously trying to hold each other back.

In the far distance Master Luke watches with a sad shake of his head as he ponders the dim outlook for the future of the galaxy.

* * *

Author's Note:

Criminey crickets, this was SO DUMB! I can't believe I wrote something so dumb. It was for a speed writing challenge if that helps at all in my defense?

Oh, and before anyone who actually knows how to play chess (ie not me) gives me a hard time about how knights can't capture two pieces like that: _"They were playing a four player variant of classic chess. This one allowed certain non-traditional moves and captures"._

Boom, saved by the plot device! *mic drop*


End file.
